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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23590534">My Empire of Dirt</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSleepUntilVacation/pseuds/NoSleepUntilVacation'>NoSleepUntilVacation</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Papyton Week 2020 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Romance, Canonical Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, King Mettaton (Undertale), M/M, Past Character Death, Please Don't Hate Me, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - King Mettaton Ending, Sad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:27:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,760</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23590534</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSleepUntilVacation/pseuds/NoSleepUntilVacation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The regally-dressed android's image graces the entire Underground. Posters, broadcasts, public appearances - all depict the newest king in his cocky, confident, glamorous glory.</p><p>Papyrus is one of the few monsters who knows that he stopped being any of those a long time ago.</p><p>Written for day four of Papyton Week, using the prompt "king".</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Papyton Week 2020 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655671</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Papyton Fics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>My Empire of Dirt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For as long as he could remember, it had been Papyrus' biggest dream to become recognized by the Underground. Being one of the biggest names in all of monsterkind, having people line up to be his friend, bathing in kisses every morning... what could be better? Maybe he would become popular through inventing new puzzles, or making waves on social media, or joining the Royal Guard. In fact, if he managed to catch the last human needed to break the barrier, that single act would single-handedly propel him into the pantheon of monsterkind's greatest heroes.</p><p>Indeed, he did come across a human in the Underground one day - and while he couldn't capture them, that human's actions set off a chain reaction that led to Papyrus being among the most well-known and respected monsters underground.</p><p>However, as the reality of the situation began to set in, Papyrus realized more and more that, of all the ways in which his wish could have been granted, it never should have been like this.</p>
<hr/><p>As Papyrus entered the castle, he took deep breaths to soothe the recently-usual discomfort in his soul. Many citizens of the Underground knew his name at this point; however, as of late, quite a few of them seemed to want to hurry their way out of discussions with him. Respecting him was one thing, and admiring him was something else.</p><p>But... were the monsters afraid of him, despite him never wanting to hurt a single one of them?</p><p>He pondered this for a short while as he stepped into the living quarters. Out of the corner of his eye socket, he saw Sans sitting in the big chair by the fire.</p><p>Sans looked up from the book in his hands and gave Papyrus a wave. "Hey, Papyrus. You got the flyers posted around town?"</p><p>"Hello, Sans. Yes, I managed to post them around Snowdin, and I even had a few extras; I put those in Waterfall." Papyrus frowned a little as he thought of the waterlogged region; as of late, he'd found himself missing the days where he would visit his best friend. What would Undyne think of seeing flyers everywhere advertising Mettaton's newest single?</p><p>(In his heart, he never liked thinking of Undyne's disappearance; not only was she most likely dead by now, but he couldn't help but have a sneaking suspicion as to who was responsible. And contrary to what he'd told the human on the phone some time ago, he didn't really think Mettaton was responsible for it. How could he have possibly had the heart to ask his cool human friend if they'd done something to her, though?)</p><p>Sans grinned somewhat. "Cool... literally." Before Papyrus even had a chance to do anything but sigh in mild exasperation at the pun, Sans continued. "I think you should go tell MTT about it. He's in the bedroom."</p><p>"Right." As Papyrus walked there, he thought about the flyers he'd posted. Like most publicity images and live broadcasts, the flyers depicted the Underground's newest king in all of his glory - a confident, glamorous man with a winning smile, ready to lead the monsters to the surface in style.</p><p>The skeleton brothers were among the rare few to know that, as of late, that smile was merely the result of some very good acting.</p><p>When he made it to the bedroom door, he gave a gentle knock. "Mettaton? It's me."</p><p>Not <em>Your Majesty,</em> not <em>my liege,</em> not even <em>sir.</em> As long as they were in private, behind closed doors, it was just "Mettaton" - by request of the man himself.</p><p>The deep voice came from behind the door, slightly muffled. "Come in, darling."</p><p>Papyrus walked in, seeing Mettaton sitting on the bed and staring at the floor. A record player on the nightstand played some human songs that Papyrus vaguely recognized.</p><p>Mettaton turned his glance towards him and gave a sad smile. "Hello, beautiful."</p><p>"Good evening, Mettaton. I put up the flyers in Snowdin like you asked me to." Papyrus walked over to sit next to Mettaton, noticing some faint, oily tracks beneath Mettaton's eyes.</p><p>"Thank you." Mettaton paused for a moment, looking around the room, before leaning in close to Papyrus as he took his seat. "I hope this will be enough to keep my fans satisfied until I can actually make a full movie for them again."</p><p>"Yes..." Papyrus gave him a nod, thinking about how the weight of ruling a nation so frequently kept Mettaton from entertaining the masses like he did in the days of Asgore. Having to figure out how to run an economy, keep education at quality levels, help monsters retain their morale in light of the disappearances of the human souls and the monsters' other leader figures...</p><p>(Every day, Papyrus and Sans would study economics and similar subjects to help Mettaton figure out strategies to run the nation; that said, they all knew it would be so much easier if the actual experienced people were still alive.)</p><p>They sat in silence for a moment before Mettaton gently squeezed Papyrus' hand.</p><p>"Papyrus, darling..." Hearing Mettaton's meek tone of voice now, one would hardly believe this was the same man who bragged about being the idol everyone craved. "I hope we can keep everyone happy, at least until another human falls." He swallowed a rock in his throat and shuddered slightly. "I've heard rumors... some monsters want to start a revolution."</p><p>"Oh..." As heavy as his heart felt, Papyrus couldn't say he was too surprised. Some of Mettaton's more overzealous fans had taken it upon themselves to shut down the voices of dissenters - sometimes by any means necessary.</p><p>"And if they just went after me, that would be one thing, but..." Mettaton's systems ran even more loudly as he took deep breaths.</p><p>It didn't take long for Papyrus to do the math in his head: <em>they might go after you and Sans next.</em> With that in mind, he wasn't sure how to comfort Mettaton with words alone. Therefore, he settled for gently putting his arms around a trembling Mettaton and giving his face a nuzzle.</p><p>For several more moments, the two just held each other, wondering why their lives had to end up this way. Everyone who knew enough to rule the nation had either definitively died or disappeared; now, the whole of monsterkind depended on an android who just wanted to be an entertainer, a skeleton who just wanted to be a guardsman, and another skeleton - formerly the king's judge - who just wanted some peace of mind. And just to make it worse, all three of them had lost their best friends.</p><p>Finally, Mettaton gathered his thoughts, and spoke.</p><p>"Darling... can you keep a secret?"</p><p>"Always."</p><p>"If we make it to the surface together..." He wiped away the tears creeping into his eyes. "I want to retire from being a celebrity. I just want to live a quiet life with you, possibly raising snails again... and Sans can live close by if he wants to. It's just..." Mettaton sighed. "I think I've had enough of being a star for at least the next several years. If I could trade that for letting all of us see the stars, at this point, I certainly would."</p><p>"I understand." Papyrus held him a little tighter; he too dreamed of being great, but not like this. Maybe when (hopefully not "if") they reached the surface, Papyrus could live his life just fixing up cars, or being a chef, or designing puzzles. Even he could see the value of a quiet life now, understanding exactly why "living in interesting times" was a bad thing.</p><p>Neither of them were sure how much time passed before they heard some quiet footsteps and a familiar drawl from the doorway.</p><p>"Hey... you guys okay in there?"</p><p>Papyrus looked over at their visitor. "Oh, hello, Sans. We were just discussing things..." He glanced at Mettaton as if to ask him something.</p><p>"You can join us if you want to," Mettaton said.</p><p>"Sure." Sans walked in and took a seat nearby on the mattress.</p><p>And thus, there they were: the king and his agents, sitting together on a bed that technically didn't belong to any of them, but was all they had for sleeping arrangements (except for the chair in the front room, which Sans often used). Likewise, while they all cared for each other at this point, they all agreed on one thing: it would be a lot better if their friends were there.</p><p>Mettaton sighed, thinking of the statue that had been dedicated some time ago. "I miss Alphys so much... if, by some miracle, she comes back, I promise I'll never complain about her favorite shows again." <em>Or take her for granted...</em></p><p>"Nyeh..." Papyrus looked down. "And I just want to see Undyne one more time... I never got to say goodbye to her."</p><p>Sans looked at his brother and employer, looked back down, and put his two cents in. "Yeah... and back when Papyrus and I lived in Snowdin, there was this mysterious door at the end of the woods. An old lady lived behind that door... we'd tell each other jokes all the time, and sometimes I'd smell cinnamon. Or was it butterscotch?" He chuckled, not finding any mirth in the situation, before continuing. "But after that kid disappeared... I never heard from her again, no matter how many times I visited. Maybe she's not feeling well... if she <em>is</em> still feeling."</p><p>"I had no idea..." Papyrus felt some guilt settle in his stomach. All that time, he'd thought Sans was just visiting that door as another way of shirking his duties. If he had known he was talking to a friend...</p><p>"Hey, it's okay. I just wish she could've gotten to meet you... but she never wanted to come out." Although he smiled, the look in his eyelights was completely bittersweet. "There was one time when she told me how to make a pie..."</p><p>Mettaton and Papyrus held each other's hands as they listened to Sans' story; soon, it would be their turn to tell stories about their own fallen friends. Maybe their friends were up somewhere, watching over them. Maybe they could see each other in dreams.</p><p>And despite what common logic said about reality, maybe this was all just a bad dream, and they'd wake up and their friends, Asgore included, would be back as if nothing happened.</p><p>But until they knew for sure, all they could do was stay by each other's sides and hope for the best.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I sincerely apologize for the grim tone of this fic. The rest of the fics in this series will go right back to the post-pacifist fluff.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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